For whose sake is the land being returned? The return can only be
declared a deceptive farce devised by the U.S. military and the Abe
administration.

At the ceremony celebrating the return of more than half of the U.S.
military’s Northern Training Area, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide
Suga stated, “This is the largest return of land since Okinawa was
returned to Japan. Roughly twenty percent of U.S. military facility land
in Okinawa is being returned, contributing greatly to the reduction of
burden on Okinawa.”

It is utterly unacceptable to disguise an increase in the burden
borne by Okinawa, in the form of strengthening the function of U.S.
bases in Okinawa, as a “reduction of burden” by focusing solely on the
area of land to be returned.

We cannot allow December 22, 2016 to go down in history as yet
another “Day of Humiliation.” We must rather turn it into a starting
point to win a real reduction of burden.

Logic of new base construction and contradictions

At the ceremony, Suga stated that the Special Action Committee on
Okinawa (SACO) agreement of 1996 between Japan and the U.S. was the
starting point for the return of roughly 4,000 hectares of the Northern
Training Area. He should have looked back further to the Battle of
Okinawa.

After Okinawans were embroiled in the tragic Battle of Okinawa,
turned into a sacrificial stone for the protection of the Japanese
mainland, their land was forcibly seized by the U.S. military. Given
that reality, there is no way the present action could be nonchalantly
declared a “reduction of burden.”

Suga said, “After 20 years, we have finally been able to achieve the
return.” In fact, he should have apologized for the fact that it took so
long to achieve the return of land that the U.S. military considers
“unusable.”

The return of more than half of the Northern Training Area is
conditioned on the relocation of six helipads in locations so that they
will surround the hamlet of Takae in Higashi Villgae. Osprey are already
training there regularly. Noise problems at night are becoming more
severe, leading to children having to miss school due to lack of sleep.

Looking at the situation in Takae, it is clear that the present land
return, conditioned on the helipad relocation, is merely a farcical
“reduction of burden.”

The government says that in order to remove the dangers posed by U.S.
Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, it must proceed with the construction
of a relocation facility in Henoko, Nago City, which has a smaller
population. However, in the case of the Northern Training Area, it is
doing exactly the opposite. Helipads located in a forested area are
being relocated to near a hamlet, which contradicts the logic for
building a new base in Henoko.

Suga admitted that a burden is being forced on residents, saying, “We
will continue to cause you inconvenience with the helipad relocation.”
This is what the Abe administration calls a “reduction of burden.”

Defense Minister Tomomi Inada said at the ceremony, “In light of the
[recent] Osprey accident, we will endeavor to ensure full consideration
of the local living environment, such as through avoidance of flights
directly over the hamlet.” We are not hopeful.

The Ministry of Defense asked the U.S. military to stop doing
dangerous exercises that involve suspending objects by cables from
Osprey over residential areas. However, the U.S. military continued such
exercises anyway. The Japanese government is powerless to prevent the
U.S. military from conducting dangerous training exercises.
Only natural for governor not to attend ceremony

In contrast to the return ceremony, where empty seats stood out, a
protest rally held on the same day, organized by the All Okinawa
Coalition, which comprises political parties and civic groups, to demand
removal of the Osprey was full of fervor.

At the rally, Governor Takeshi Onaga expressed his determination in
Uchinaguchi, saying, “We must bring our hearts together as one. For the
sake of our children and grandchildren, we can’t lose. If a new base is
not built in Henoko, we will also be able to have the Osprey removed. We
must do our best to prevent [the Henoko base] from being built.”

As concerns about the excessive burden of bases increases, many
Okinawans were surely encouraged by the governor’s call for Okinawans to
persist in their struggle.

After the return ceremony, Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga said, “It is
very unfortunate that the governor, who calls for a reduction of the
base burden, is unable to attend.” If he is unable to recognize the
significance of the governor’s absence from the ceremony, he is not
qualified to be the Minister in charge of Alleviating the Burden of the
Bases in Okinawa.

It is only natural that the governor did not attend the ceremony. It
is rather strange that Suga expressed discomfort with the governor’s
absence. He should realize that by pressing forward with the return
ceremony immediately after an Osprey crash incident, the government was
mocking the people of Okinawa.

What Okinawa demands is the guarantee of a living environment where
children can grow up in sound health. The present land return will not
lead to a safe living environment. Many Okinawans, not only those who
attended the protest rally, know this.

It is Okinawans who will be the ones to open a path to Okinawa’s
future. We should once more pledge to use our power as Okinawans to
resist oppression.

After a hiatus of about 10 months,
construction work for the relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station
Futenma to the Henoko district in Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, resumed on
Dec. 27.
Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga retracted his decision to rescind
approval for land reclamation work at the site given by his predecessor,
Hirokazu Nakaima on Dec. 26, less than a week after the Supreme Court
ruled against the Okinawa prefectural government.

The central government wasted no time in resuming the project,
without the support of the people of Okinawa. And Onaga is set to
exercise every gubernatorial power at his disposal to resist the
project.

It is regrettable that Tokyo and Okinawa are back to the state of
confrontation they were in before a court-mediated settlement was
reached back in March.

During this past year, Okinawa experienced a series of incidents that
made it painfully aware--again--of the excessive burden of hosting U.S.
military bases.

In May, a former U.S. Marine, then working for a contractor at a U.S.
base, was arrested in connection with the murder of a 20-year-old
Okinawan woman.

In July, Tokyo mobilized riot police from around the nation to resume
construction of U.S. helipads in the Northern Training Area of the U.S.
forces. Some police officers hurled racist slurs against protesters at
the construction site, calling them "dojin" (indigenous people) and
"Shina-jin" (Chinese).

In December, people's fears of an Osprey aircraft accident became a
reality. But despite local protests, the U.S. military resumed Osprey
flights a mere six days later with Tokyo's approval.
None of these grievous incidents would ever occur in regions that do
not have U.S. military bases. Yet, the safety and peace of mind of
Okinawans are being threatened for the "deterrence power" of the
Japan-U.S. Security Treaty.

We cannot but be reminded anew of the unreasonableness of about 70
percent of all U.S. military installments in Japan being concentrated in
Okinawa.

And this unreasonableness can never be corrected by merely moving the
Futenma air base to Henoko within the same prefecture. And so long as
there is no local support or understanding for the presence of U.S.
bases, their stable operation cannot be hoped for.

Tokyo must squarely face up to this reality.

What needs to be remembered is the following view, indicated to both
Tokyo and Okinawa by the Naha Branch of the Fukuoka High Court, at the
time of the March settlement: "Ideally, the entire nation of Japan,
including Okinawa, should reach an agreement on the best solution and
seek the cooperation of the United States."

Similarly, a third-party commission tasked with resolving disputes
between the central and local governments urged Tokyo and Okinawa in
June to confer in earnest on their common goal of realizing the return
of the land occupied by the Futenma base.

Indeed, the return of the Futenma property must be their common goal, and they must not lose sight of this.

But in disregard of Okinawa's repeated demand for dialogue, Tokyo has
maintained an attitude that can only be called disinterested.

To break the impasse, the central government must first halt the work
at Henoko and try to create an opening for regaining the trust of the
people of Okinawa.

And surely, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior
coalition partner, Komeito, should be doing more than just standing by
and watching. There can never be any progress while they keep repeating
that relocation to Henoko is the "only solution."